The use of vacuum assisted picking end effectors to achieve the movement of product is quite common in robotic packaging operations. In many of these automated packaging operations the product being packaged must be assembled into a bundle on the end effector prior to insertion into a suitable container or basket. Such is particularly the case in the packaging of, for example, bakery products or the like, where a bundle of bread loaves or the like are assembled on an end effector and then inserted into a delivery basket or container.
Such a problem is particularly acute in those applications wherein it is required that all of the products designated as a full layer in a container or basket (such as the bread loaves shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 wherein bread loaves 10 are packaged in shipping container or basket 12) be squeezed into conformance and forced into the container. One prior art approach to this task was to place the product into the container one at a time and then to force the last few in each direction into the container. This often is undesirable because each object may be squeezed differently from the others in the basket or container. If all the products are pushed away to make room for an “un-squeezed” last object, then they are squeezed to different degrees which is similarly undesirable. If the last product is squeezed into the remaining space left over after all the un-squeezed objects are in place, then the last object is squeezed to a different degree which is again undesirable. The best way to accomplish the task of squeezing all the products into the basket or container is to form the group of products in the proper pattern and orientation and to squeeze from all sides inward at the same time until all products conform to the containers shape and then to set the objects into the container. This has been accomplished in various ways in the prior art. One method was to: 1) squeeze the product in the X direction; 2) insert the group into the container at an angle such that the first row is near and below the top of a Y direction container wall; 3) push from the other Y direction end of the product and force the objects up against the container wall until the trailing products are past the opposite Y direction wall; and 4) drop all of the thus compressed product into the container. Another method is to loosely arrange the objects on a bottom support overtop of the container (by mechanical or robotic means), to compress in all sides of the objects until they are slightly smaller than the container walls, and then to quickly remove the bottom support of the products and let them fall into the container. The problem with this method is that the product often expands or springs out as it falls and sometimes hangs up and does not drop all the way into the container. Another problem with this method is that the product has to drop—which can result in damage thereto. If the product(s) have to be picked with vacuum from the top and temporarily supported in their descent then this is expensive and usually prevents the use of a robot to form the pattern.
Thus, it is apparent that there exists a need for an apparatus, most desirably an end effector that is capable of forming a required bundle of product, compressing the bundle and then inserting the bundle into a shipping container or basket in the compressed form thereby assuring that all individual product objects are uniformly compressed and no damage is imparted to the product during insertion into the shipping container or basket.